'Sir. Young sir, are you alright?' A gentle voice cut into his deep slumber.

Dominique slowly stirred and opened his eyes feebly. A forty year old guy with a gentle face was staring at him with eyes full of concern.

Dominique massaged his head as he accessed his surroundings. That was when he realized he was lying on a field at goodness know where.

Dominique pushed himself of the grass slowly, Dominique's head was pounding, he still felt very weak but he was stronger than before.

Then suddenly, the memories flood back to him. There was a girl with the sweetest tasting blood; Dominique remembered drinking the girl's blood. But then afterwards, everything was blurry, he had no recollection of what happened afterwards.

'Are you alright? What happened to you, young man?' The man asked. The man helped pulled Dominique up to his feet.

The man looked please with himself and puffed up his chest. 'It's nothing, glad to be of some help. Well then off you go, I need to go for my morning run now.'

There was a flash of crimson in Dominique's eyes which went unnoticed to the man who was blabbering on and on.

'Where do you live? Thought I knew everyone in this neighborhood,' the man said and he turned around to face Dominique.

That was when all blood drained from the man's face and his voice trailed off. The man was trembling and his eyes were widened with shock at what he saw.

Dominique had a maniacal smile on his face, his fangs visible under the street lights. The man was backing off slowly, but then his knees suddenly gave way and he fall down to the ground.

'Wh-what a-are y-you?' The man stammered as Dominique edged in closer with every step.

'Me? Your worst nightmare,' Dominique smirked, baring his fangs. In one swift motion, he swooped the man up and positioned his fangs at the man's neck.

The man struggled valiantly, but to no avail, Dominique's strength was inhuman. 'No, No! Get away from me, you maniac!' the man screamed and shoved with all his strength at Dominique.

Dominique chuckled and then he leaned in preparing to take a bite. Normally Dominique wouldn't bite males, he preferred young females whose blood was tastier. But beggars couldn't be choosers, and right now, Dominique desperately needed blood and desperate time comes for desperate measures.

But then just as Dominique's fangs were about to sink in, he got the surprise of his life, an invisible barrier appeared stopping him from biting the man. Instead, Dominique was thrown off his feet by a huge invisible force.

There was a loud 'thud' when Dominique hit the grass, leaving him lying on the grass gasping slightly from the shock.

The man was still petrified with shock, but when he saw what happened to Dominique, he quickly scrambled up to his feet. After one last fearful glance at Dominique, the man took flight, running as if a pack of hounds from hell were chasing him.

Dominique was still in shock, nothing like that had ever happened to him, never. Then, Dominique suddenly realized that his prey was getting away from him, it will be chaotic if he got away. If news of vampires leaked out, the Angels would soon caught whiff of his scent and be on his trail. That would be bad, on many, many terms.

Dominique began to give chase after the man, it was an easy feat. Dominique halted to a stop in front of the man, blocking his path.

The man's face of horror and shock would have been amusing to Dominique if his mind wasn't so muddled up with the incident earlier.

The man trembled and felt down on his knees, begging Dominique fervently. 'Please, please, have mercy! Please! My family still needs me, please,' the man pleaded.

Dominique sneered, ignoring all his pleas. Dominique grasped the man's head and lifted it, looking right into those fearful chocolate eyes.

Dominique's golden eyes glowed a deep blood red color as he began to use his magic. 'You remember nothing, nothing extraordinary happened, nothing,' Dominique said, his eyes locked to those brown eyes.

Slowly, the man's eyes slid out of focus and then the man repeated in a monotone voice, 'I remember nothing, nothing extraordinary happened, nothing.'

Dominique smirked then he released his grasp on the man and the man toppled down to the ground like a puppet whose strings were cut.

Dominique took a look at the sky, it was still pitch black but the sun must surely be rising soon.

Dominique glanced at the man and noticed something silver on his wrist; he bent down and looked at it. It was a watch showing that the time was ten past five.

Dominique stood up, and plans began to formulate in his mind. Dominique still had some time before the sun rose, but before that, he would need to find a dark and secluded place to hide from the fatal afternoon sun. After he found his hiding place, he would give a good thought on what happened.

Dominique smirked when he saw the man lying on the grass, his eyes glassy. The man would no doubt recover from this state soon, but his memory from the earlier encounter would all be washed away.

Dominique had the ability to manipulate people's memory, whether to eradicate them or insert some new memory inside them.

Dominique began to run, the scenery beside him turn into a blur when he ran past them. Knowing that he had only about one hour to find a place, he could not bear to waste anymore of his precious time. Even if it means that he would use excessive of his power, so be it.

Finally, he found his destination; it was a forgotten broken down warehouse hidden from the prying eyes of people and away from the hustle and bustle town. The door was chained shut with a padlock, Dominique's lips curled when he thought of how naïve the mortals thought they could prevent people from entering with a mere padlock.

Dominique's eyes turned crimson once more, and the padlock burst into flames. The padlock fall to the ground, allowing Dominique to breach its territory.

Dominique pushed open the door and closed it behind him. It was dark and filled with cobwebs; there was a stale smell of the warehouse being abandoned for a long time.

Dominique wrinkled his smell, he detested the smell, the air was full of stillness and there's no fresh air. Dominique half stumbled to a pile of haystacks nearby and sat down on it.

Dominique felt the strength slipping away again, he need blood desperately. But why was it that he couldn't drink from that man earlier?

Then Dominique gasped, no, it couldn't be, don't tell him that…

Dominique gave a groan, it's impossible, impossible! Dominique's thoughts wandered once more to the girl from yesterday, Dominique couldn't even remember how the girl looked like, and it was all such a blur. It seemed absurd, but the more Dominique thought about it, the more possible it became.

Suddenly, words from a book he had once read flashed in his mind. 'Always suck your victims dry, because if you leave them alive, this means you have marked them as your mate. When you have marked someone as your mate, you have sworn to drink from naught but the person. It is a bond of marriage and trust. You will always find you mate in your heart as there will be a bond between you two.'

That must be what the book meant from that time, Dominique must had accidentally marked the girl as his mate.

Dominique's eyes narrowed and that was when he realized something. Dominique could sense a fluttering of an unfamiliar heartbeat inside him. Dominique's brows furrowed. There was a feeling of another person inside him, as if there was an invisible link tying him to another person.

Dominique tried to focus on the link; he tried to find out who the person was. There was a weak and uneven beating of heart somewhere near him in this town.

Dominique focused once more, although he was slightly shaking from the used of magic again. And then Dominique saw the girl in his mind, he was in a dark room. There was a girl on the bed, tossing around and muttering feverishly in her sleep as if she was having a nightmare.

Suddenly, the room was ablaze, Dominique tried to shield himself but then the link broke, and Dominique was alone once more in the warehouse panting slightly.

Dominique was horrified with what he saw because this meant that he had really marked the girl as his mate.

xxxx

Everything was burning, the room was orange and red, and the smoke was stifling. Tiffany was crying for her brother, she was alone, all alone and helpless. Suddenly, Tiffany froze, something didn't feel right, and she felt as if she was being watched. Then Tiffany slowly lifted her head then she screamed. There was a pair of golden eyes in the ceiling, staring at her unblinking.

Tiffany's eyes flew opened, and Tiffany woke up gasping for air, her heart thumping like mad. Pain seared in her left forearm, Tiffany clutched at her forearm tightly. Tiffany gasped when she saw the crescent moon mark was glowing a bright red. Her left forearm was as if it was on flames, it was burning, and Tiffany stifled back a scream.

Tiffany tried to take several deep breaths to calm herself down, her heart beat slowly returned to normal.

Tiffany buried her head in her hands, reminiscing back her dream just now. Tiffany had her usual nightmare, but this time was different. The mark on Tiffany's forearm seemed to throb painfully when she thought about it.

There was a pair of golden eyes, and those eyes seemed inhuman, they were cold and without any feelings, looking right at her, as if those eyes could pierce into her inner self.

Tiffany still had the feeling that someone was still watching her, although the feeling was slowly fading until there was nothing more. Tiffany turned her head around her room, but there was no one in the room.

The pain on her forearm was subsiding too, and the glow of the mark dimmed. The crescent mark on her forearm was looking as innocent as before.

Tiffany walked cautiously to the window and looked out from it, but there was no one on the streets. Tiffany closed the window and walked back to her bed. Was she being too paranoid, Tiffany wondered. She was in her own room for goodness sake, she couldn't possibly be watched, could she?

Tiffany turned to see the alarm clock trying not to think too much about how paranoid she was. Tiffany groaned when she saw the time, it was only half past five. There was still another half hour before she needed to wake up.

Tiffany decided not to sleep anymore instead she started to prepare for school.

All the while at school, Tiffany had the feeling that someone was staring at her. But every time, she turned around to try and find the source, no one was looking her way. Everyone was busy doing their own stuff.

It was a relief to Tiffany when the final bell rang. Today was the final day, and they would have a whole week of holidays to look forward to.

All around Tiffany, people were discussing their plans and making dates, but nobody asked Tiffany to join in their conversation.

Tiffany got used to it; she did not mix much with people as she was on the quieter side. Tiffany's hands on the clutch of the bag tightened, she wasn't used to be like that, and she was a talkative and popular girl. But after the incident, a lot of things changed, and this was one of them.

Tiffany was about to go out from the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Tiffany turned in surprise to see who it could be.

It was Amethyst, and she was smiling brightly at Tiffany. 'Tiff, I am celebrating my birthday today with a couple of friends, do you want to come?' Amethyst asked. A group of girls who were standing behind Amethyst were watching them closely and throwing dark looks at Tiffany.

Tiffany was withering under those hateful glares from the other girls. Tiffany felt hurt by those dark looks from her classmates, she knew her classmates labeled her as a weirdo, and the only person who would talk to her was Amethyst.

Tiffany inhaled deeply, trying to control her voice from shaking. 'Erm, no thanks, Amethyst, I am sorry but I have plans today. I hope that you will have a wonderful birthday today, by the way,' Tiffany said, slowly backing out from the classroom. Tiffany burst into a sprint after exiting the classroom.

Tiffany could see the hurt and bewildered expression in Amethyst's eyes before Amethyst was lost from view. Tears were once again leaking out from Tiffany's eyes; she had no one in this world that cared for her, no one, she was all alone.

Tiffany spent her day in the library, as she didn't feel like returning home so soon. Tiffany was so absorbed in her books that she didn't noticed the sky was getting darker until it was the library closing time. The librarian ushered Tiffany out.

It was nearly seven, yet normally the sky was still quite bright. But today the surroundings were darker than usual, probably because of the dark clouds that were obscuring the sky. Tiffany quickened her footsteps, not wanting to be caught in the rain as the thunder rumbled overhead her.

People all around Tiffany were rushing on their way as well, hoping to get home as quickly as possible.

Tiffany decided to use a shortcut to her house; there was a dark alley which she could used to get home faster.

Tiffany clutched her bag tightly to her side as her heart pounded, as if it was warning her that something bad was going to happen. Suddenly, Tiffany had a throbbing feeling that she was being watched again, she looked around her surroundings but no one was looking in her direction.

Tiffany shrugged off the thoughts, she had used this alley countless of times, so why would something bad happened to her today instead of every other day.

Tiffany walked in quick steps, as she darted furtive shooting glances behind her to see if she was being followed. As Tiffany turned around a corner in a rush, she bumped into something.

Tiffany gave a shriek, and then the voice died in her throat as she saw who it was that she had bumped into. Tiffany locked eyes with a pair of familiar golden eyes.

Tiffany could see her own reflection reflecting from the guy's mesmerizing golden eyes. Then horror flashed through Tiffany's mind, those golden eyes, they were the ones who intruded her dream.

'Hello, we meet again,' a low sensual voice spoke up. It was the guy from yesterday, the vampire.

Tiffany was caught of guard by the person in front of her, her hands trembled, and her heart was pounding painfully against her ribs. 'You! You are the one from yesterday, and… the one in my dream,' Tiffany gasped.

'Wh-what do y-you want?' Tiffany stammered.

Then without waiting for an answer, Tiffany sprinted away backtracking down the path she had just taken.

Tiffany heard a low chuckle behind her then suddenly she saw the guy appeared right in front of her eyes blocking her path.

Tiffany's heart was caught in her throat, who was this guy? Wasn't he just behind her now?

'You can't run away from me,' the guy smirked. In a flash he was soon beside the surprise Tiffany and pushed her sleeve away to reveal her forearm.

'Just as I expected,' the guy muttered, one finger caressing the mark gently.

When the guy touched the mark, it burned as if it was on fire.

Tiffany flinched and wrenched her arm away from the guy, her eyes widened with shock. Tiffany turned away and began to run, shouting for all she was worth, hoping that someone could rescue her.

But before she had gone a few more steps, her whole body was rooted to the spot, unable to move.

The guy walked up casually, sneering, 'Don't you understand? You are my slave now. You can never run away.'

The guy stopped in front of Tiffany and snapped his fingers. Suddenly Tiffany felt she could move again. Tiffany fall down to the ground, her limbs felt weak, and she was gasping for breath. Tiffany's brain was still trying to process what was happening to her.

'What do you mean by I am your slave?' Tiffany asked in a weak voice

'Have I not made myself clear? You are my slave now,' the guy said as he lifted Tiffany's face to look at him.

'What? Why?' Tiffany asked, trying to stall for time to run away from this dangerous person.

The guy blew out a breath in frustration, 'Honestly, this is just a bother dealing with idiotic humans. Very well, I will explain to you what is going on now.'

'I am vampire.' At that, there was a sharp intake of breath from Tiffany; this guy was really a vampire?

'Yes, I am a vampire,' the guy repeated as he saw the disbelieving look in Tiffany's eyes. 'My name is Dominique, and I am the leader of the vampires in Harvest town.'

Tiffany gasped again when she heard that, Harvest town was the name of this town about one hundred years ago.

'While escaping from the townsfolk and Angel to Lucrecia, I was captured. I had no idea how I ended up here, but it doesn't matter. All it matters now is that I get to Lucrecia,' Dominique continued.

'Then, what does this has to with me?' Tiffany asked uncertainly.

'I am just getting to that part. You see, I accidentally marked you as my mate,' Dominique growled.

'What do you mean?' Tiffany's heart was beating quickly.

'That mark on your forearm is the proof. Vampires can have the ability to mark another vampire as their mate. Every vampire can only do it once, and they only can drink from their mate and no one else, well, not counting animal blood that is,' Dominique said.

'Why did you mark me as your mate?' Tiffany asked, bewildered.

There was an inaudible curse from Dominique. 'Like I said, it was a mistake. I never meant to mark you. We, vampires are always very careful when we drank blood. We must drain the blood completely from our victims until they die. If we only drank some of their blood, that means we have marked them as our mate,' Dominique said, tapping his feet against the floor impatiently.

Tiffany clapped her hands to her mouth in horror. So this vampire was planning to murder her yesterday! But still, this didn't explain a lot of things.

'I was trying to find out who you were and so I formed a link with you, but the link broke halfway,' Dominique explained.

'Then can't you remove this mark from me, and then we can continue our usual lives?' Tiffany said after thinking for a while.

'I don't have the power to do that, once marked, the mark cannot be removes. Only the high council of the vampires in Lucrecia can. And even if they could, they might not do so,' Dominique said, his brows furrowed in concern.

'By the way, what's your name?' Dominique asked.

'Tif-Tiffany,' Tiffany stammered, her eyes never leaving those golden ones.

Silence followed after this statement until Tiffany decided to break the ice. 'So, what do you plan to do now?' Tiffany asked.

'I am going to Lucrecia, and you are coming along,' Dominique replied, a smug grin on his face.

Tiffany gasped. 'No! I am not going with you!' Tiffany said defiantly as she stood up.

'You have no choice. Do you think I want to take you along? You will only be a bother. But I have no choice. I can only drink from you now, so if you are not there, then I will starve,' Dominique snarled.

'What if I ran away from you?' Tiffany said.

'Do you honestly think you can outrun a vampire?' Dominique laughed. Tiffany flinched from the high pitched sound.

'Like I say, you have no choice. You are my slave and I am taking you along no matter you want to or not,' Dominique sneered.

Suddenly, Tiffany felt a drip of rain on her arm. Tiffany looked up at the sky and was surprised to see that it had begun to rain. Tiffany took an umbrella from her bag to shield herself from the rain while Dominique stood there looking unperturbed as the rain became heavier.

'Very well, I will go along with you to Lucrecia. But can we go somewhere else first?' Tiffany asked.

Dominique looked surprise at her request, but the expression was quickly replaced by a triumphant look on his face. 'Where do you want to go? But don't you try to run away, if you do, you will be punished severely,' Dominique sneered

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